Watching the army of Heroic Spirits marching toward the Throne, a cold sweat broke across the Demon King's brow.
He could feel it clearly these spirits were on a completely different level compared to the ones struggling against the Demon God Pillars. Not to mention the Grand Class servants and Beasts mixed in among them. If they all attacked at once, there was absolutely no way he could win.
"Damn it..." The Demon King felt a surge of pure frustration. He just wanted to start a little fire to remake the world did another version of himself really have to show up with an entire legion of monsters to stop him? Is every Chaldea Master a freak of nature?!
He briefly considered taking the other Master or Mash as hostages. Any of them would do. But he had to abandon that thought not because of pride, but because it was suicide.
If he tried to grab Mash, Flauros (Lev Lainur) within his own body would rebel violently. One Demon God Pillar protesting might not stop everything, but it would definitely hinder his movements enough to be fatal.
And as for grabbing the two Masters... are you kidding? Try snatching someone from between two Solomons, a Tiamat, and a Goetia!
"Aaaah! Is this what humans call despair?!" The Demon King was nearing a mental breakdown. A plan prepared over countless millennia, on the verge of success, only for another 'Me' to wake him up and shout: "Wake up! Stop dreaming! The foreman wants you to get up and move bricks!"
The Heroic Spirit army advanced rapidly, soon reaching the front of the Throne where Ritsuka and the others stood.
"Yahoo! Master! We're here!" Astolfo, riding his hippogriff, was the first to arrive, waving cheerfully at Ritsuka. To anyone else, he looked like a cute girl, but he was packing more "hardware" than anyone expected. (Wait... isn't that even better? .jpg)
"What a humble-looking place," Ozymandias remarked, looking around with a frown. "To have the King of Kings visit such a location... Hmph... Master is fine, but Goetia is truly an unforgivable sinner!"
"If you're too scared to provoke her, then just shut up!" the Chaldean Goetia roared back. "Why are you calling my Temple of Time a 'Ham Sausage'?! If you're so great, don't stand in it!"
"..." Veins popped on Ozymandias's forehead. As an internet user, he knew exactly what the "Ham Sausage" nickname meant (a dig at the pillars' appearance). "To share a name with a king, yet be printed on a sausage instead of an Abu el-Hol Sphinx... Death is too good for you!"
Ritsuka: I feel like the second part is the real reason you're mad.
"Alright, is everyone here?" Ritsuka asked, looking at the gathered legends.
"Master! Souji hasn't arrived yet!" Oda Nobunaga suddenly raised her hand to report.
"Hmm..." Just as Ritsuka was wondering where she went, a voice called out from the distance. "Master... huff, huff... I-I'm here!" Okita Souji came running, coughing up blood but still managing to reach the group.
"Souji, you're actually late? That's rare," Ritsuka said in surprise.
"I... cough... I tried to use [Shukuchi] to get here fast," Okita panted, leaning on her knees. "But halfway here, my [Weak Constitution] kicked in..."
Ritsuka fell silent. Girl, it's a miracle you're even 'alive' right now... wait, you're already dead.
"Anyway," Ritsuka turned, pointing her finger directly at the Demon King. "Why are we attacking the enemy?"
The Heroic Spirits roared in unison: "BECAUSE THE ENEMY IS RIGHT THERE! URA!!!"
"Wait, wait! Hold on!" The Demon King watched the charging legends in terror. "You're not following the script at all! GUH!"
He barely dodged Okita's initial thrust, but he couldn't evade Sasaki Kojirō's [Tsubame Gaeshi]. Even though it didn't cause a deep wound, the triple-refracted strike pushed him back several steps.
"HA-HA-HA!" Ozymandias laughed, deploying [Mesektet — The Solar Ship]. "Witness the glory of the Pharaoh!"
The golden ship, the vessel of the Sun God Ra, radiated a heat that rivaled the sun itself. It wasn't just a transport; it was a weapon of mass destruction. From its hull, beams of concentrated solar mana rained down, striking the Demon King and making him feel true pain for the first time.
"GRAAAH!" Atalante didn't hesitate to activate [Agrius Metamorphose]. Her stats, especially her speed and ferocity, skyrocketed as she transformed into a demonic beast. Her bow, [Tauropolos], fired arrows with the power of high-rank Noble Phantasms. Once she ran out of arrows, she dove into melee combat, her claws tearing into the Demon King's flesh to heal her own wounds. With A-rank Madness Enhancement, she was a true Berserker.
The Demon King, already suppressed by a few spirits, soon realized the worst was yet to come. The long-range attackers had finished their preparations, and a sky-blotting rain of projectiles began to fall. The best part? They didn't have to worry about friendly fire—their attacks were magically tuned to ignore their allies!
"HA-HA-HA-HA! How refreshing!" Oda Nobunaga, completely ignoring her own image, released her Noble Phantasm: [Hajunhenjou - Sanzen Daisen Ten Maou]. This was the true power of the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. She manifested a Reality Marble that turned the area into a burning hell, a nightmare for anyone with high Divinity or Mystery. (Visual note: Legend says she becomes naked in this state, but let's keep it 'hype'.)
Within this space, those with high Divinity struggled to even maintain their existence. For the Demon King Goetia, who was a collection of supreme Mystery, it felt like being submerged in molten lava no, worse. Even a bath in magma wouldn't hurt him, but this Reality Marble felt like it was melting his very soul.
"Hey! Put some clothes on, you idiot Nobu!" Seeing Nobunaga's clothes vanish as the Reality Marble expanded, Okita Souji blushed furiously and used [Shukuchi] to rush to her side, trying to cover her up. "Why do you have such a perverted Noble Phantasm?! You actually used it with all these people watching?!"
Nobunaga didn't care at all, but Okita seemed very concerned... Seriously, you two, just get married already!
Despite the 'questionable' side effects, the result was undeniable. An EX-rank Anti-Divine Noble Phantasm made the Demon King feel an unbearable heat. He felt like he was evaporating.
"Hah! I'm not done yet!" Nobunaga laughed. With her [Tenka Fubu - Innovation: A] skill, she had an overwhelming advantage against high-mystery opponents. She immediately unleashed her second Noble Phantasm.
[Sanzen Sekai — Three Thousand Worlds]
Three thousand matchlock rifles appeared in the air, firing in perfect synchronization. Because her legend of defeating the "strongest cavalry" was so famous, the attack dealt double damage to anyone with the [Riding] skill. Against the Demon King, who was a Beast I, three thousand enchanted bullets were a nightmare to handle.
He was forced to dodge, but he also had to face Arash's mountain-shattering arrows, Medea's high-speed divine incantation beams, Gilgamesh's [Gate of Babylon], Ishtar's Maanna blasts, and the combined strikes of dozens of other legends.
"Huff... huff... huff..." Panting heavily, the Demon King struggled to evade the relentless melee attacks and the soul-searing heat of the Reality Marble. He looked at the other Beasts who hadn't even moved yet and felt that today might truly be his end.
"The Demon God Pillars are tied up by those other Servants..." He frantically searched for a counter-strategy. "Damn it! If the pillars were here, they could block most of this. But if I call them back now, those other Servants will just follow them and gank me even harder..."
The Demon King realized he was trapped in a checkmate. A [Labyrinth of the Minotaur]... wait, what?
The scene around him suddenly shifted. He was no longer in the Throne room; he was inside a colossal, shifting stone maze.
"...CRAP!" He remembered one of the Berserkers in the army was Asterios, also known as the Minotaur.
He was trapped in his maze! The EX-rank Noble Phantasm maze was a unique conceptual space. Even for the Demon King, it would take time to find the "solution" to escape. More importantly, it severed his connection to the Temple, preventing him from using his Third Noble Phantasm.
Just as he was struggling to find a way out, the maze suddenly dissolved. He was back in front of the Throne.
But he didn't have time to celebrate. He saw a blinding array of lights in front of him the telltale sign of multiple Noble Phantasms reaching full charge.
He finally understood the short-lived maze's purpose.
Those bastards used the labyrinth just to pin me down so they could charge their ultimate attacks in peace!
He had no time to dodge. The world turned into a sea of white light.
[An Gal Ta Ki Gal Šè — Ishtar] [Excalibur — Artoria] [Rhongomyniad — Artoria Lancer Alter] [Sanzen Sekai — Nobunaga] [STELLA — Arash]
Facing a barrage of world-class beams and a mountain-shattering arrow, the Demon King could only brace himself and take the hit.
"GUAAAAHHH! NOOOOOOOO!!!" His agonizing scream echoed through Ars Paulina before he was completely swallowed by the radiance.
"What a pity," Ritsuka smiled, looking at the heavily wounded, smoking mess that was once the Demon King. "I won't kill you, for the Doctor's sake. But I can certainly make sure you can't move a single muscle."
"You know nothing... of power."